A Winter's Night

Hello all, and welcome.  It's another grey, damp day here as I write this, and it's not even chilly, so I'm having to get my fix of proper winter weather via the craft table.

I've been playing with the brand new Curio Box just released by Tim Holtz.  I couldn't resist it.  I can see it being useful in all sorts of ways.

Given it's brand new, it fits in well with the Something New theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

And the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog are playing a Tic Tac Toe challenge so I chose to play the line across the top to fill up my shadow box - Layers, Winter, Heat Embossing.












Unfortunately, I'd already been experimenting with the Curio Box die before I decided what was going inside.  I tried it out with some Idea-ology papers - working out which side of the paper the creases for the folds would turn up so that I could get the side of the paper I wanted either on the inner box or the outer frame.













The die comes with a number of Thinlits frames so that you can cut different apertures for the opening of the shadow box.  This is the largest of the apertures.  There's a smaller one also this shape, and a couple of ovals which will give the shadow box a very different look.













When it turned out I needed to add some layers for my night sky, I had to snip open the tissue tape fastening the inner box together so that I could lay it out flat again for the paint sponging...










... and then the star-stencilling.  Next time, I'll work out what I'm doing before building the box!

The night sky is sponged in PaperArtsy Fresco Blueberry, and the snowy landscape in Snowflake (of course).  And the star stencil is one of Tim Holtz's.

I sponged some more Snowflake through the stencil and applied some ancient Ranger Silver Pearl powder which was hiding in my stash.











It has a lovely shimmer to it - just right for starlight.  And the top layer is, of course, a spattering of snowy white paint droplets.












I cut one of the houses and a couple of trees from the Thinlits Ghost Town set (also new to me - picked up at a bargain price) from the same paper as the outer box frame.  But I then gave the trees a coat of my favourite Wow Primary Bark embossing powder to darken their silhouettes.














This is the house with the reverse side of the paper showing, but my camera seems to have decided I didn't need the photos I took of the before and after with the trees.  It does that annoyingly often at the moment.  Hopefully I just need a new SD card rather than a whole new camera.












I glued the house down onto some plain card - right way up this time - and added some Antique Linen Distress Ink to the windows with a water brush, to give the illusion of warm glowing lights within.











I then had great fun adding snow to the roof and windowsills with some heavy body white acrylic paint.  I'm very happy with the dimension of those heaps of snow!














This fence is part of a set intended for a Christmas model village.  I spotted them on sale and I thought they looked useful!













Of course, I had to do a bit of weathering... PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze to create my flaky paint, and in the long run a bit of extra Pumice Stone shading and "dirt".














It was easy to cut the railings with scissors so that I could put a couple of posts the other side of the frame, creating a gateway to walk through.














The Paper Doll was a slight afterthought... the scene still needed a little something even with all that lovely snowy texture around.  I think she's exactly right standing just inside the gate there.














She seems to have trodden in a pretty deep snowdrift (a.k.a. a mound of White-tac - same as Blu-tac only white!













I also added extra heavy body white acrylic to the mound, to blend it into the ground.

There's plenty of snowy splatter...















... both inside and out.















And I used the cut-out from the frame to add a little interest to the back of the box.  It's not that anyone's likely to be looking at that side, but you never know.















It was, yet again, a tricky photographic job.  The shadow box casts shadows - of course! - so from some angles the sky looks really dark...
















... but then from others, with a slight tilt, you can get a much better look at that lovely Blueberry blue and the twinkling stars.
















You simply can't catch all the angles at once!




















Nonetheless, I hope you've enjoyed stepping into the winter night garden with me - and I hope you are wrapped up warm and snug like the little girl.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I'll see you again soon.

Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.
Mary Oliver














I'd like to play along at the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog where the challenge is Let's Play Tic Tac Toe - and I'm playing the top line across... Layers, Winter, Heat Embossing
At the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge they want to see Something New

Soar too high

Hello all, I'm here with an entry for this month's theme at Art Journal Journey.  The fabulous Yvonne, a.k.a. Meggymay, is looking for Words and Numbers.  I thought I would have joined in before now, and had hoped to get quite a few pages done (as I did last December), but it hasn't quite gone according to plan.  But I'm here with my first page earlier in the month than I've usually managed this year.

I promised myself I'd manage at least one page per month for AJJ in 2019, and I've stuck to that, even though it has only been one each time.  But I'm going to try and finish with a flourish.  With a theme like this, hopefully I'll manage a couple more before December is over.  It's not like there's anything else to keep me busy!







Today's page is done in the same kraft journal as all of last December's twelve pages, and shares quite a few features with them, but it's not strictly seasonal, as all of those definitely were.

I started out with some wide tissue tape strips... already getting some words into play as you can see.















I used a palette knife to smear on gesso and then some of Dina Wakley's Medieval paint (a Black Friday purchase).















It's a wonderful metallic pewter colour with a fabulous sheen.

I spattered the leftover silvery paint along with some Snowflake Fresco paint...















... and that was the background done and ready to play.













The next task was to flick through the seasonal Paper Dolls to see if anyone wanted to come out to play.

As soon as I tried this dapper chap in his opulent furs against the background, I knew he was the one.  But there was something just a bit too cocky about him for this to be a straightforward celebration.














I found myself reaching for the portrait of the older man (I think it may be from the Regions Beyond paper stash) - his father or grandfather, perhaps.  Somebody who built a company up from the ground through sheer hard work...















... leaving this chap in the financially advantageous position he is today.  But not having had to work hard for his wealth, he's been squandering it on expensive clothes, fast cars and high living.  What will there be left to pass on to his son in the end?














I think the stamped numbers and scribbled words I added must be from those early days of the hard-working grandfather - coming up with ideas, working hard and investing wisely, treating his workforce well in order to build the company.

They're stamped in Watering Can Archival to tone in with the Medieval Pewter in the background.












But the tangled thread weaving around the figures and notations shows the chaos that our current managing director has been creating in the company by letting things drift, preferring to spend his time on wild parties and long holidays.












The raven is perhaps an ominous sign of trouble ahead.  (He was left over from my Sunrise, Sunset book cover... no room for him there, so he's been hovering around the craft table, and now he's here to cause trouble.)












The words are from my PaperArtsy EAB11 Wings & Flight set, stamped in Archival and embossed with my favourite Liquid Platinum powder.













He's been soaring high on the proceeds of his grandfather's and father's work, rather than on his own hard graft.  If you've done the work, built the wing muscle, you can soar as high as you like, but otherwise...













Hopefully he'll heed the warning of the raven's arrival and turn things around before it's too late.  He needs to think of his son and what he'll be passing on.

(I like how the Liquid Platinum gives us another metallic gleam to echo the paint in the background.)













There are letters and numbers, scientific formulae perhaps related to the work his grandfather did all those years ago, built in to the tissue tape shadow our current chap is standing on...












... and there's a film strip running through the whole spread - maybe another sign of the glamorous life he's been leading...













... or perhaps a reminder that things are being recorded and remembered for posterity, another nudge for him to turn his attention to his legacy.












This, after all, is the time of year for miraculous transformations (I'm looking at you, Ebenezer Scrooge!).

Time to review, refresh, and reform his life for the better...  he'd better start doing some work on those accounts to make sure the numbers start adding up again!










I was quite surprised when things took the dark turn they did, but that's what often happens when I'm playing with the Paper Dolls or with the Photobooth photos, come to that.














They start to tell me stories and I just have to follow their lead.  Still, let's all hope that a Scrooge-like alteration is just around the corner and that all will be well.  Turns out the page is somewhat seasonal after all!










Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you're finding a bit of crafting time in between the Christmas preparations - or at least a bit of time to put your feet up occasionally.  See you again soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland.

It is our own thoughts that hold the key to miraculous transformation.
Marianne Williamson

I'd like to share this in the Words and Numbers challenge at Art Journal Journey.
At Moo Mania & More they are playing Anything Goes

Pace yourself

Hello all, and thank you for stopping by.  The sun is out for the first time in days so there's a slight lift in the mood here.

I've got a quick journal page for you, created with the current Art Journal Journey theme in mind.  It's called Words To Live By, and Halle the host is specifically looking for us to use "found" words or handwritten ones.  

I don't generally have magazines around, and I haven't had much time lately for trawling through books to find phrases that excite me, but then a Neal's Yard Remedies catalogue popped through the letterbox, packed with lovely words and phrases, and that's what I've used here.

I was playing in my Dina Wakley Media Journal, so the page is about 10 x 7.5 inches in size, and it's the canvas page, so it's got lovely texture going on before you even start.













Paper scraps were my first port of call... leftover pieces lying around the craft table which needed using before I lost patience and started yet another scraps-to-use box!

















Over that I used a palette knife to add a rough coat of gesso, keeping plenty of texture and movement in it.
















Then some strips of washi and design tape (yes, it's another variation on Live the Dream Jennie's fab technique)... 

















... followed by some DecoArt Media Crackle Paint, again scraped on quite roughly.
















Once that had done its thing, I spritzed on some Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans Distress Sprays.
















I love how this looks when it's still drying, but am always a bit sad at how much it fades as it dries.  I could have gone in with another spritzing, but I was ready to move on.















These two Paper Dolls were crying out to be allowed on to the page!
















They've got the customary shadowy tissue tape to give them something to stand on...













... and some simple layered lace and cheesecloth running behind them to give the page some horizontal structure.















I've no idea where the little wire heart came from, but it's been tucked in my bits and bobs box just in front of me on the table for months.  This seemed to be the right moment to put it to use.















And here are some of those words from the Neal's Yard catalogue.













Not only lovely thoughts, but in just the right colour tones too!














I love all the background texture... a gentle page, but it makes me happy.  I hope it does the same for you.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I'll see you again soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland.








Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going to fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
Eddie Cantor

I'd like to play along with Words To Live By over at Art Journal Journey
I'd also like to join in at Frilly and Funkie where they are looking for Embellishments, Trinkets and Trims - well, having finally got round to using that little heart, and with the lace and cheesecloth trims, this should qualify
At the Creative Artiste Blog they are celebrating their 50th Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge - it would be rude not to join in, don't you think?!